


The Hidden Truth

by Lvl11Bard



Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: Awkward Flirting, F/F, Humor, Lies, cupid bee
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-22
Updated: 2019-02-08
Packaged: 2019-05-26 20:39:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15009014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lvl11Bard/pseuds/Lvl11Bard
Summary: Diana finds herself in an interesting situation where she is in love with Akko, but wants to keep it a secret from her. However, in order to keep it a secret, she must confess her love.





	1. The Beginning of the Lies

**Author's Note:**

> Heyo! This is my first time posting to this site and my first Little Witch Academia fanfic. I'm always open to comments, criticisms, and ideas, so let me know what you think.
> 
> Thanks for reading!

Diana stared at the ceiling of her room as she lay in bed, reflecting on what had to be the most unbearably stressful and embarrassing day of her life. Honestly, she would go face any challenge, whether it was a stuffy party, Aunt Daryl, or even Croix’s missile a hundred times over if it meant she could erase this day from existence.

However, dwelling on impossible alternatives and lamenting her problems was not the Cavendish way and certainly not something Diana would waste her time on. What the prodigy was doing was planning on how she was going to deal with the crisis she was presented with and the best way to prepare for the future is analyze the events the lead up to it.

Her day had started off as any other normal day. After completing her morning rituals, she was joined by Hannah and Barbara and the trio made there way to the cafeteria for breakfast. Making idle chat as they walked, they soon spotted their friends from Red Team. Lotte was crouched down and trying to awaken Akko, who apparently thought the hallway floor was a perfectly acceptable place for a nap.

Diana quickly approached the other group with a concerned look. “Good morning Lotte, Sucy. Is everything all right?”

“Oh, good morning Diana,” Lotte replied as she stood to greet the heiress properly while Sucy only nodded to acknowledge her presence. “Akko is alright. She just, um, didn’t get much sleep last night.”

Diana furrowed her brows. “Why wouldn’t she get enough sleep?”

“Well, er…” Lotte started to fumble over her words before Sucy interjected.

“She spent all night studying magic history so that she could try to show off to you during our ‘study party’ this weekend,” Sucy lightly kicked the sleeping Akko as she sarcastically added, “aren’t you impressed?”

“She did that for Me?” Diana inquired almost impassively.

However, to those who were also accustomed to the subtle inflections in the voices of the upper class, like Hannah and Barbara, Diana had practically squealed in excitement. The two shared a knowing look as Diana continued with her conversation.

“Well, we should wake her up soon or we’ll all miss breakfast,” Diana stated as she helped Lotte pull their japanese friend to her feet and attempted to rouse her again.

Finally, Akko stirred before snapping awake and frantically looking around as though she didn’t know where she was. When her eyes focused on Diana, she calmed and her face became contemplative.

“Diana? When did you get here?” Akko asked.

“Shortly after you fell asleep on the floor,” Sucy answered with a snicker.

“I fell asleep on the floor?” Akko exclaimed as her cheeks grew pink.

The others nodded with amused smiles as Akko laughed nervously while rubbing the back of her head.

“Ehehe, why don’t we go get something to eat?” Akko asked, trying to draw everyone’s to a new subject.

“You go ahead,” Sucy said as she began to walk the other way, “I actually have been waiting on a package that should be arriving today.”

“What kind of package?” Akko asked, half interested and half terrified.

“Oh, just something for an experiment I’ve been wanting to perform for a long time,” Sucy replied as she continued on her way, now cackling.as she went.

Akko gulped, her fears realized. “I really hope I’m not going to be the guinea pig for that one.”

“Aren’t you always the guinea pig?” Hannah asked.

“Yeah,” Akko sighed.

The girls then continued to the cafeteria where they met up with Green Team. The morning did started off chaotic. However, it was something that Diana had not only accepted, but welcomed. Afterwards, the students had classes to attend which Diana, as well as Hannah and Barbara, dutifully attended. Although, Diana suspected that her friends seemed to have something on their minds, something they were restraining themselves from expressing, but Diana would not let it distract her from the lectures.

It was when the girls had a short break and returned to their room to pick up the books they would need for the rest of the day that the other members of Blue Team finally released their inner thoughts.

“Oh Diana!” Hannah exclaimed dramatically, kneeling in front of Barbara, “ I spent all night studying super hard just to impress you! Doesn’t that make your heart flutter?”

Barbara giggled before taking upon a serious look and began to imitate Diana. “I’m sorry Akko, but you know I’m committed to pretending I have only platonic feelings for you and won’t gush about something like this even though I really want to.”

Diana scowled at the two, but refused to blush. Ever since they began to hang out with Green and Red teams, Hannah and Barbara began to be influenced by their new friends. While they had become more tolerant and friendlier in general, they had also picked up on some habits that Diana didn’t appreciate as much. Before, neither of them would even dream of teasing their blonde leader over any matter. However, probably thanks to being overly exposed O’Neill, they would playfully make fun of Diana based on their suspicions of her supposed feelings for Akko.

“Are you too really going to start this again,” Diana scolded, “I have already told both of you numerous times that I consider Akko a close friend and nothing more.”

Which was a blatant lie. Diana was well aware of her crush on the number one Shiny Chariot fangirl, but she would never admit it to anyone. Diana was terrified of jeopardizing the friendship the two had built up after they had such a rough start. And it wasn’t that she believed Akko would judge her for her sexuality. However, not only did Diana think Akko had any interest in girls, but she had seen how Akko responds to the mere thought of romance. 

After the missile crisis, Akko had become quite popular. Of course, this led to her having a multitude of admirers, but whenever anyone tried to flirt with her, she would become terrified and paralyzed. Diana and the others had to rescue their japanese friend on more than one occasion from such situations. Even when Barbara and Lotte would talk about the relationships in those Nightfall books they read, Akko would back out the the conversation in discomfort.

Meanwhile, Diana had accepted that her feelings would not be reciprocated and settled for admiring Akko up close as her good friend. It was hard at first, but after some time, Diana became comfortable with just having Akko in her life. Should her crush be revealed, however, it would be completely mortifying and humiliating for Diana. Somehow, Hannah and Barbara had figured out her secret, even though had Diana hid it perfectly, and thought they should ‘encourage’ Diana to confess. When Diana had denied that she had any crush, the two moved on to teasing her whenever they had the chance despite Diana’s protests. While the two may have had good intentions, they did not realize the difficult position Diana was in.

“We’ll happily stop when you finally ask Akko out,” Hannah taunted.

“We just want you to be honest with yourself,” Barbara added.

Diana sighed. “Girls, I don’t want to have this conversation again. Let’s just get our books and get to class.”

Hannah and Barbara shrugged and smiled, willing to give Diana a break for now. The girls then continued their day without incident until the end of their last class. They were heading to the library for some additional studying, to Hannah and Barbara’s dismay, when the door to one of the classrooms they were passing was suddenly flung open, surprising all three girls. Akko stood in the doorway, looking as shocked as they were, until she quickly circled them with a determined look and pushed them into the classroom.

“Diana! Hannah! Barbara! Thank Yggdrasil your here. We need your help!” Akko explained as she shoved the three into the room where the rest of Red Team and the members of Green Team were occupying.

“Akko!? What’s going on?” Diana asked while Hannah and Barbara complained.

The rest of the girls seemed to be talking about something important among themselves, so, Akko began to catch Blue Team up. “Well, you remember that package Sucy was talking about this morning?”

Diana nodded and urged Akko to continue. “So it turned out… to be... another Cupid Bee.”

“What!” All the members of Blue Team shouted.

“And it escaped…” Akko meekly added.

Hannah and Barbara began to talk with each other nervously as Diana angrily stomped over to Sucy. “Why on Earth would you ever get another one of those things!?”

“I already told you,” Sucy replied, unimpressed with Diana’s display, “it was for an experiment.”

“Don’t you remember the catastrophe that occured the last time you let one of those things loose?” Diana was exasperated by Sucy’s nonchalant attitude.

“Of course,” Sucy smiled, “it was hilarious.”

Diana realized that Sucy was not her best option for information, so she turned back to Akko. “Can you please tell me what happened?”

“Ok, so, we met up with Sucy after class in our room and she was holding a jar with a cloth over it and I asked her what it was and she said it was a Cupid Bee. Well me and Lotte started to freak out and I started to tell Sucy off and, well, maybe I was flailing my arms a bit and MAYBE I knocked the jar out of her hand by accident…” Akko began to explain.

“It’s alright Akko,” Diana reassured with a sigh, “I just want to have this under control. What happened next?”

“Um, we all took cover and tried to stop it from stinging us, but it slipped out under the door and we started to chase it, and we found Amanda in the hall because she wanted to know if we wanted to hang out and I had to tackle her to the ground because she was about to be stung,” Akko continued.

“Could’ve just shouted at me,” Amanda called out, annoyed.

“Anyways, we went to get Con and Jasminka to help while Sucy tracked the bee. She followed it into this room and we followed her. It’s hiding right now, so I thought I could go get you because you’re really good at helping with problems and it turned out you were right outside,” Akko finished.

“Alright, I think I got all of that. Have you enchanted any swatters?” Diana asked.

“Right here!” Amanda announced as she raised her magic fly swatter.

“Very well, I will assist the best I can,” Diana exclaimed with her hands on her hips and a confident smile.

“Really? You’re the best Diana,” Akko cheered as she jumped into the air.

Diana beamed a little at the praise as she addressed Akko directly. “Of course I would help Akko. After all, we are frie-”

Diana stopped as she felt a sharp pain in the back of her neck. She froze in place as magical insect flew from beneath her hair.

“There it is!” Amanda shouted as she lepted at the Cupid Bee.

“It got Diana!” Barbara cried as she pointed at Diana.

The world seemed to slow down for Diana as her mind started to process many thoughts at once. She was just stung by the Cupid Bee. She was looking directly at Akko. Normally, this would mean that she would hopelessly fall in love with Akko like the last time. However, unlike last time, Diana now already has feelings for Akko. After the first incident, Diana had done some research on Cupid Bees in case she ever faced one again and learned that their venom could be neutralized by true love. 

Diana then realized that she felt no different after she was stung. She knew that everyone saw her get stung and would think she was under the spell. If she acted normally, it would draw suspicion from the others. Furthermore, she thought that Sucy, being an expert on poisons and venoms, might also know that the venom would have no effect on a preexisting crush. And Diana had no doubt Sucy wouldn’t hesitate to reveal that information to the rest of the room.

So within the span of two seconds, Diana came to a conclusion. If she wished to continue to hide her crush on Akko from all of her friends, she would have to confess to Akko. She would also be required to act as though she were in love with Akko until the Cupid Bee was squashed. As she came to this realization, the motions around her seemed to catch up to real time.

“Diana, are you Okay?” Hannah asked.

“Get back here,” Amanda grunted as she swung the swatter.

“It’s heading out into the hall!” Lotte exclaimed.

“Looks like Akko didn’t shut the door properly,” Sucy commented.

“Um, Diana?” Akko nervously waved her hand in front of Diana’s face.

Amanda chased the bee into the hall, followed closely by Sucy who mentioned something about her experiment. Diana blinked a few times and called upon every once of acting ability she had and thought about how she would act if she would ever actually confess to Akko.

“Oh, Akko,” Diana started in a soft voice as she stared into Akko’s eyes, “I think.. I might be in love.”

Akko’s jaw dropped as she froze in place. This was utterly humiliating for Diana, but she kept going when she thought of the alternative. Taking a step closer and biting her lower lip, Diana blushed as she continued to confess.

“I… I don’t know how I didn’t see it before, but your beauty is absolutely magnificent, Atsuko.”

Akko went pale like she had every other time anything remotely romantic occured. The other girls in the room didn’t move, interested on how this scenario would play out. Diana realized that her facade would have to end if the bee is killed and she wasn’t sure when that would exactly happen.

“Oh my, I can’t believe that I just lost myself there for a moment,” Diana said as she turned away, “please excuse me as I compose myself.”

Diana went to the corner of the room, facing away from the others. She was hoping that she could remain there until Amanda and Sucy returned. She would then be able to say that after the spell was broken when the bee was killed, but she was too embarrassed to face them again. It was a shaky plan, but it was the only one she could think of. Soon, the door opened again and the two bee hunters entered.

Akko broke from her trance and grabbed Amanda by the front of her uniform and asked desperately “did you get it?”

Amanda was about to answer when Sucy interrupted. “No, it escaped out a window.”

Diana cursed silently as she overheard. Now she was going to have to keep up this charade until they could find the Cupid Bee. Furthermore, she wouldn’t be able to stay in the corner for much longer without someone asking questions. So, with dread plaguing her mind, she turned around and strided next to Akko, wrapping her arms around one of hers.

“Is something wrong, Akko? A girl as charming as you should have no worries in the world,” Diana cooed.

Akko froze once again with a squeak as Amanda broke down laughing. Diana placed a hand on Akko’s cheek and giggled. However, on the inside, Diana was screaming. Part of her glad she was able to pull this off, but another part of her was hoping this was some twisted nightmare she would wake up from. While she acting out one of her fantasies, she knew that it was a lie. Akko’s mortified face kept reminding her of that. Diana was also wondering where she should go to from here. She had to keep playing the part, but she was too embarrassed to go much further.

Thankfully, Hannah and Barbara had intervened and gently pulled Diana off of the Japanese witch as Barbara began to talk. “Maybe we should take Diana back to our room. We don’t want her to be seen like this. It could start a lot of unwanted rumours. Plus, she won’t be much help right now and neither will Akko as long as she’s around.”

“Yeah, that’s probably for the best,” Lotte agreed. “We’ll let you know if we make any progress on finding the Cupid Bee.”

“Alright, Diana, we’re going back to our room,” Hannah urged as she began to lead Diana out of the room.

Diana looked over her shoulder and pouted. “Must we? I’d rather spend more time with Akko.”

“You can see Akko later,” Barbara explained, “but for now, let’s go relax and maybe go to bed.”

“Perhaps I could go relax in Akko’s bed,” Diana proposed in a very suggestive voice.

Akko fainted as Diana realized what she had just said. It was not something she meant to say. She was just saying things that she had always wanted to say to Akko, but that last comment had surprised Diana herself. It wasn't like she never had thoughts like that, but she never believed that they would be so prevalent on her mind. She had to lower her filter so that she could perform her lie and she figured that it just slipped out. Luckily, she was already out of the room so that no one could see her burning red face. However she could hear Lotte and Jasminka trying to help Akko over Amanda’s and Sucy’s laughter.

Diana managed to calm her blush before her friends took notice and while she was led to her room, Diana decided to keep talking about Akko and how she thought that she was wonderful so that she could continue to deceive Hannah and Barbara. Fortunately, they encountered no one else in the halls.

“Geez, I wanted Diana to confess to Akko, but not like this,” Hannah sighed.

“Yeah, this is so not good,” Barbara agreed.

It frustrated Diana that she couldn’t argue with her friends, but she did manage to keep talking about Akko’s good points until they reached their room. It was far too early to go to bed, so Hannah and Barbara had to keep Diana busy. Eventually Hannah left to go fetch them dinner. It was easy to convince the professors to let them eat in their room when she told them that Diana was doing extra research. Diana did spend the evening studying, but she made sure to make a comment about Akko every once and a while. 

Finally, it was late enough to go to bed and Diana changed into her nightgown. As she headed to bed, she heard Barbara call out to her.

“Have sweet dreams about akko,” Barbara giggled, “although I bet you do every night.”

Diana forced a smile on her face as she replied. “I’d be happy to have Akko in my dreams, but they will never compare to the real one.”

And that was how Diana found herself staring at her ceiling, wondering how she was going to make it through this ordeal. If the Cupid Bee got out a window, then it could be anywhere, although it will probably stay where it can sting the most people. Diana will just have to keep acting as though she was under the spell until it was killed. She dreaded the thought, but then something struck her.

Through the lies and embarrassment, there was another feeling that Diana couldn’t quite identify before. When she thought back to her interactions with Akko, she felt like a weight had been lifted from her. She dared to think that her false confession had even made her happy. With her belief that she would never be with Akko, Diana began to think that this might be her only chance to say the things she wanted to say without repercussions. She even felt better about her comment on Akko’s bed.

Diana then thought about how she was going to handle the next few days. There was only one more day until the weekend, so she would have to plan around her school schedule, but perhaps she could turn this dilemma into an opportunity. She would have to be careful not to expose her lie or to go to far, but Diana believed she could pull this off.

And besides, Akko looked really cute when she was embarrassed.


	2. Maintaining the Lie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the feedback and comments so far! I'm happy people are liking this, so I plan to continue. I don't really have an update schedule though. I'm sort of writing whenever I have time, but I hope to update at least once a week!
> 
> Again, I'm open to any compliments, criticisms, and ideas.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

The next day arrived with Diana waking before either of her teammates as per usual. She then went about her daily routine while she was able to be normal. As soon as either Hannah or Barbara awoke, Diana would have to go back to acting as though she was lovestruck. While she was looking forward to being able to be romantic with Akko, she did still have to be careful in order to maintain her ruse. 

She didn’t have long before her friends were up and getting ready as well. When Hannah greeted Diana with a yawn, Diana let out a long sigh with a smile before she answered the greeting.

“Still obsessing over Akko?” Hannah asked.

“How could I not? She’s wonderful in every way,” Diana replied.

Hannah giggled. “I wonder how much of that is the Cupid Bee and how much is actually you.”

Diana almost cringed, thinking that she had been found out, but Hannah shrugged and continued. “At least this’ll be good practice for when you actually ask her out.”

Diana grumbled to herself internally. Even if Hannah was right about Diana’s feelings, Diana hated that she couldn’t refute it. Barbara left to bring back their breakfast, thinking that the less time Diana spent in public, the better. The three ate as Diana resumed her fawning over Akko.

“I guess they didn’t find the bee last night,” Barbara commented.

“Yeah. I wonder how long Diana will be like this,” Hannah said as she finished eating and checked the time. “We should start heading to class.”

Barbara let out a sigh. “Who thought it was a good idea to have magic astronomy first thing in the morning?”

“At least all of our friends have it as well,” Hannah stated before her eyes went wide.

“Including Akko!” Diana practically sang happily.

“Oh no,” Barbara gasped. “How are we going to handle this?”

Before Hannah and Barbara could start panicking, Diana raised her hand to silence them. “Girls, you do not need to worry. A girl like Akko deserves to be courted properly. I wouldn’t dream of interrupting her academics or my own.”

“Oh, thank Yggdrasil,” Hannah sighed in relief.

“At least she still has her common sense,” Barbara almost laughed.

“Although any other time is fair game for winning her heart!” Diana concluded.

“That figures,” Hannah mumbled.

“I guess we shouldn’t think that this is going to be easy,” Barbara exclaimed sadly.

The girls then decided that they should leave for class before it was too late. Diana was happy with the story she gave. This way, she’ll be able to focus on her classes without her lie getting in the way. When she was researching the Cupid Bee, she read about many cases of stung victims as well. In each case, the affected person would act obsessive, but they still had enough reasoning to function as they would have before they were stung. With that in mind, Diana was more confident that she would pull this off until the bee was found.

As the trio approached the classroom, Diana could hear some familiar voices coming from a nearby stairwell. Diana turned and saw Akko, Amanda, and Lotte talking with each other. Diana took a quick look around and, when seeing that there was no one other than her friends, changed directions and tried to quietly close the distance between herself and Akko.

“Diana?” Hannah questioned as her blonde leader suddenly took off.

“Where are you going?” Barbara asked.

However, Diana didn’t respond as she got closer and closer to her target.

“How can I calm down? We have to find that stupid bee as soon as we can,” Diana could now hear Akko complaining..

“Come on, you’re overreacting,” Amanda rolled her eyes, “it’s not that bad.”

“Um, Akko,” Lotte tired to get her animated friends attention as she spotted Diana.

“Not that bad,” Akko repeated. “NOT THAT BAD! This is the worst!”

“Please, not a lot of people would complain about having a hot blonde all over them,” Amanda retorted with a smirk.

Akko went red as she tried to sputter out a response. “Th-that’s not, I mean, she’s under a spell! It doesn’t count! We’re just friends!”

“Akko…” Lotte said a little louder.

“And I’ll admit Diana isn’t bad looking either,” Amanda continued with a mischievous smile. “I’m just saying that you should see the bright side of the situation.”

“SHUT UP!” Akko shouted.

“Akko!” Lotte managed to say loud enough to get Akko’s attention.

“What?” Akko heaved, still angry.

“Behind you-” Lotte started, but was too late to warn the brunette.

Akko then felt two arms snake around her and a sultry voice whisper in her ear, “Hello love.”

“Eep!” Akko yelped as she slightly trembled.

“Oh dear,” Lotte muttered as Amanda snickered.

Akko remained paralyzed as Diana began to play with her hair. Hannah and Barbara entered the stairwell as well to see what their leader was up to.

“Oops,” Barbara laughed nervously, “she got away from us. Sorry.”

“No prob. It’s kinda funny seeing Akko like this,” Amanda replied with a laugh.

Still in a petrified state, Akko couldn’t argue with the American. Diana shifted herself so that she and Akko were facing each other, but still with her arms around the japanese girl, to see that Akko’s eyes were wide as she slightly trembled.

“I wonder why you are standing around here when you have a class to attend Akko,” Diana began to taunt with half lidded eyes. “You know, I still have authority to discipline other misbehaving students, right? Do I need to... punish you?”

“Go. Class. Now,” Akko shouted to no one in particular as she broke free from Diana’s grasp and rushed to the classroom.

“Wow, you actually got a reaction from her,” Amanda raised an eyebrow as Akko dashed out of the stairwell.

“Yeah,” Lotte added, “she usually either freezes or faints.”

“We should probably follow her unless we want to be late,” Hannah suggested.

The girls went to class to find Akko in her seat, red faced and trembling, while Sucy poked her with a questioning look. Diana and the rest of her team took their seats a few rows behind while Lotte and Amanda joined their own teams. Diana worked suppress a blush as she prepared her schoolwork. Once again she went further than she meant to, but she couldn’t deny that she adored Akko’s response. Luckily, Akko ran off before Diana had to follow through with her playful threat.

Professor Chariot entered the room shortly afterwards and greeted the room with a warm smile. Diana had noted how happy the former icon seemed after the revival of the Tree of Yggdrasil. She even went back to using her real name and hair colour, even though she still retained her shy personality. Of course, Akko was incredibly excited to be taught by her idol, even if she technically had been ever since she arrived at Luna Nova. Even Diana was thrilled, being a fan herself, although she did try to be a little more subtle about it.

“Good morning, class,” Professor Chariot said and waited for the chorus of ‘good morning Professor Chariot. “I have a surprise for all of you today!”

The class muttered excitedly and the Professor struggled to calm them down. When there was finally quiet in the room again, she continued.

“Today, I am going to teach you how to read the stars to gain a glimpse of the future of your love life,” Professor Chariot announced.

The girls in the room immediately burst into chatter and squeals. Hannah and Barbara were so enthralled with the idea that they forgot about Diana’s condition. Diana looked down to see Akko slowly turn around with a nervous expression to take a glance back at Diana. Diana took the opportunity to give her a sweet smile and a wave to which Akko gulped and spun back around. 

“Ok, ok,” Professor Chariot hushed, “I know you’re excited, but this is still a lesson.”

The professor began to teach the class on the specifics of looking for romance in fortune telling. Chariot chuckled to herself as she thought that she had never seen the room more attentive. However, her apprentice didn’t seem as thrilled as the others, though, even Chariot knew how the poor girl handled the idea of love. 

When she was done with her explanation, she then asked for volunteers. Almost every girl wanted to try and see their future, but Chariot could only pick so many. There were varying degrees of success with each attempt, but when Chariot said they had time for one more, Diana had raised her hand as well. Thinking that the prodigy might be able to help the others learn, Chariot picked her, but did wonder why it took so long for her to volunteer.

In truth, Diana had actually been planning on how she wanted to handle this scenario. She considered using her attempt to mess with Akko a little more, but she could never allow herself falsify results on a spell demonstration. She still had a responsibility to be an example to others. In the end, Diana decided that she would try the fortune telling honestly and select what she wanted to share with the class. She moved to the front of the class next to the professor and raised her wand.

“Whenever you’re ready,” Professor Chariot gently urged.

Diana focused her magic and performed the spell exactly how she was instructed. She couldn’t get any clear images, but glimpses of her future love did flash before her.

“I… will have someone who is loyal,” Diana stated as her eyes closed in concentration.  
“They will be someone talented, from a foreign land, and willing to do anything to make me smile…”

The rest of the class cooed and started to gossip with this new information. Diana remained silent, processing what she had learned. She never saw a clear image, just emotions and thoughts. However, none of those features ruled out Akko. In fact, they might even indicate that Akko was involved in her love life. But Diana forced those thoughts out of her head. She didn’t want to give herself false hope. The most she was going to get was out of her Cupid Bee lie, and then, she would go back to silent admiration.

“Wonderfully done, Diana,” Professor Chariot complimented, “but I’m afraid that’s all we have time for today. We’ll pick this back up on Monday.”

Diana headed back to her seat and saw Akko rush the long way around the room to avoid her on her way out. Diana chuckled to herself as she gathered things. Both Akko and Diana had a free study period and Diana figured Akko would try to hide.

“We have another class to go to now,” Barbara explained as she passed by, “but you stay out of trouble.”

Diana only nodded as her friends left and then saw Professor Chariot pick up something from where Akko was just sitting.

“Oh dear, it looks like Akko forgot her notebook,” Chariot thought out loud. “I wonder why she was in such a rush?”

“I could take it to her, Professor,” Diana offered.

“Ah, thank you Diana,” Chariot said as she handed the notebook over.

“It’s my pleasure,” Diana replied, “have a pleasant day.”

Chariot waved Diana out, but noticed something else by Akko’s seat. “Oh Akko, you forgot your wand as well. I’ll have to try to catch up to Diana.”

Meanwhile, Diana wandered the halls, pondering on where Akko could be. If she had to take a guess, she figured Akko would hide where she thought Diana would never expect her to be. And by Akko’s logic, Diana would never look for her in the library. So the prodigy headed towards the massive doors that lead to the library and, sure enough, could hear Akko’s voice as soon as she entered. It also seemed like there were no other students or faculty around.

“Where is it? Where is it?” Akko kept repeating as she seemed to be searching for something.

Diana spotted her crush in the corner of the library and silently moved in. Akko huffed with her hands on hips when she heard Diana’s voice.

“Looking for something,” Diana teased as she held up Akko’s notebook.

“D-d-d-d-d-d-” Akko stuttered when she saw Diana.

Diana sauntered up to Akko, who took a step backwards to match each of Diana’s. Unfortunately for Akko, she soon hit a bookshelf and had nowhere to go. Diana put her hand above Akko’s shoulder and leaned in with a predatory look.

“Isn’t it nice to finally to get some alone time together,” Diana smiled, “don’t you agree?”

Akko only stared wide eyed at Diana, still unable to form a sentence.

“You know Akko,” Diana started, “you really are beautiful. I don’t think I could go another day without you being mine.”

However, Diana’s flirting was cut short when she heard a gasp. Both girls turned to the source, with Diana just as terrified as Akko, to see Professor Chariot with a blush on her cheeks and a hand over her mouth.

“I’m so sorry,” Chariot frantically apologized. “I didn’t mean to interrupt. I was just so surprised. I didn’t know you two were like that.”

Diana didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t stop her act without alerting Akko, but she didn’t want to continue in front of her professor and childhood idol. What’s worse is that Chariot now believed that she and Akko are an actual couple. Suddenly, Akko slipped under Diana’s arm and rushed to the professor.

“Shiny Chariot! I mean, Professor Chariot! I need your help,” Akko pleaded.

“Oh my,” Chariot responded startled, “I’m afraid I don’t have much dating advice to give.”

Akko sputtered as she tried to explain herself. “No, I-”

However, Chariot lowered herself to Akko’s level with a smirk and a thumbs up. “but I have have to say Akko, good catch. I didn’t know you had it in you.”

Even Diana blushed while Chariot praised Akko. Akko, on the other hand, nearly crumpled in embarrassment. But as soon as she recovered, Akko tried to clarify things.

“Professor! Diana was stung be a Cupid Bee!”

“What!?” Professor Chariot yelped. “Where’s the bee now?”

“We don’t know…” Akko answered meekly.

“Alright, I’ll go get the other professors and-”

“No!” Akko interrupted. “We can’t let anyone else know. We’re trying to protect Diana’s reputation. If any of her social rivals found out, it could ruin her!”

Diana was touched that Akko put so much thought into her feelings as Chariot asked, “Do you think it would be that bad?”

“That’s what Sucy told me,” Akko explained as Diana sighed. 

“Ok, I won’t tell anyone as long as this doesn’t get out of hand,” Chariot relented, unable to say no to her favourite student. “Has anyone else been stung.”

“We don’t think so, but we’re still looking for it,” Akko responded.

“I see,” Chariot said as put her hand to her chin in thought. “I’ll start searching as well.”

Akko jumped in place as she squealed. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

“You should stay with Diana though,” Chariot explained, causing Akko to lose all her glee. “Since she seems attached to you, you’ll need to keep her from exposing her condition.”

Akko looked like she wanted to argue, but surrendered and agreed. “You’re right…”

“You two should go somewhere less public,” Chariot instructed. “I’ll find you if I learn anything.”

“Alright,” Akko sighed as she headed out of the library, Diana trailing right behind her.

“Wait,” Chariot cried out.

“Hm?” Akko looked to see what was wrong.

“I came to give you your wand,” Chariot explained.

“Oh, thank you Professor,” Akko managed a smile as she took her wand.

The two younger witches then left with Akko mentioning how they should hurry while the halls were quiet.

“A shame,” Chariot thought out loud. “They would be so good together. Plus Diana is a top student, well mannered and so kind. She certainly has my approval… N-not that she would need it! It’s not like I’m Akko’s mother or anything.”

Chariot looked around, but there was no one listening to her rambling.


	3. The Lie Gets More Complicated

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo! Sorry about the delay for this one. My week was a little busier than expected, but I finally got it done.
> 
> I don't really have much else to say, so I hope this chapter was worth the wait!
> 
> Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Diana followed Akko through the halls of Luna Nova, too nervous to try another advance at that moment. She had already been caught once and it hadn’t even been a full day since she was stung. Even if Chariot was understanding and everything ended up working out, Diana was still furious with her own recklessness. What was worse was that she couldn’t completely stop flirting because she was supposed to still be under the Cupid Bee’s spell. Thankfully, Akko didn’t seem to notice Diana’s hesitation, too focused on reaching her destination before she became paralyzed in awkwardness again.

Diana was snapped out of her inner thoughts when Akko came to a stop. She could see that she was led to the West Dormitories and was standing in front of Red Teams door. Akko swung the door open, turned to face Diana and pointed to the doorway.

“In. Now,” Akko ordered, but failed to maintain eye contact and trembled a little.

Since Akko wasn’t looking at her, Diana took the opportunity to take a quick glance around and listened carefully for anyone coming towards them. When she was absolutely sure that she was in the clear, Diana decided to reply.

“Oh my, Akko! How forward of you,” Diana gushed as she put a hand to her mouth in a mock gasp.

Akko turned red, but didn’t change her stance. “Hide. Now.”

Diana smirked, but did as Akko instructed. The brunette followed her into the room and closed the door behind them. Diana nearly chuckled out loud. The two of them were alone. In a place where very few people would disturb them. And those people would be in class for another thirty minutes. Akko had just made a very terrible mistake.

Diana spun around and sauntered towards Akko, sashaying a little as she did. “So Akko, why did you want to do with me alone in your room?”

Akko went rigid as Diana got very close to her, but managed to get her mouth to work. “Ch-chariot. Instructions.”

“Oh,” Diana giggled, “and there is no other reason why we are here?”

Akko shook her head vigorously when she felt Diana’s finger trace her chin.

“Then what are we supposed to do?” Diana asked, feigning confusion. “Just sit here?”

Akko struggled to respond for a moment, but then looked as though she was struck by inspiration and grabbed a textbook. “Studying!”

Diana blinked a few times, but then smiled mischievously and looked Akko up and down. “I see a subject that I’d like to study.”

Akko dropped the textbook with a yelp as Diana could practically see steam coming out of her ears. Diana realized she was becoming dangerously reckless again, but she believed that she was in a safe enough environment. Besides, she couldn’t deny how much fun she was having. However, she didn’t want to push her friend too hard. She still cared for Akko. 

So Diana picked up the textbook with a sigh. “I suppose you’re right, though. We shouldn’t fall behind on our schoolwork.”

Akko fell to her knees with a sigh of relief. Both girls pulled out their notes and prepared to review them. Akko walked over to her bed and sat on the edge before she began reading. Although Diana could use the desk, even if it was filled with Sucy’s potions, she decided on a more entertaining solution. Diana calmly walked over to Akko and sat next to her, close enough for their shoulders to be pressing.

“Would you mind sharing your bed with me?” Diana asked flirtatiously. 

Akko’s only response was to bury her face deeper in her book, but Diana could see the tips of her ears turn red. The girls remained silent as the studied for a while. Diana finished going over her notes rather quickly and noticed that Akko was still working through hers. The blonde thought that she could take a small break and decided that she prefered to be more comfortable. Akko felt Diana shift, but decided it would be better to ignore her. However, it became much harder to pay no attention when she felt a pressure on her lap. She moved her book to see that Diana was using her as a pillow, looking up at her with a smile.

“Diana!” Akko exclaimed.

“Don’t mind me,” Diana giggled. “I’m just taking a break.”

Akko just brought that book back to her burning face, although Diana could tell she wasn’t accomplishing much reading. Eventually, though, Diana had to get up so that the girls could go to their next classes.

“I suppose we have to part ways now,” Diana lamented dramatically.

Akko only nodded, looking relieved. The girls then left Akko’s room and headed down the stairs to exit before they could exit the West dormitories. Before they left, however, Diana stopped Akko and turned to face her.

“I guess this is goodbye my love,” Diana sighed.

The blonde then blew a kiss towards her companion and laughed to herself as Akko took off running. Diana then went off to her next class and continued her day as normal. She had only one more class before lunch, which she managed to attend with an incident. When the class ended, Diana began to walk towards the cafeteria, but found herself being intercepted and redirected by her teammates.

“Oh, no you don’t.” Hannah exclaimed with a determined look.

“We still don’t want you being around Akko in public,” Barbara added.

“For all we know, you’ll probably try feeding Akko and then the whole school will start talking,” Hannah accused as she led Diana back to their room.

“So are we eating while ‘studying’ again?” Diana asked, rolling her eyes.

“It’s only until we find the bee,” Barbara explained. “We even asked the others to meet us there so we can come up with a plan.”

The girls came upon the room door and found the members of Red and Green team, minus Akko, waiting outside. Hannah opened the door to let everyone get situated inside while Barbara offered to retrieve their meals once again. When the remaining witches were settled, Diana decided to address the group.

“I noticed that we seem to be missing one energetic beauty from our group,” Diana stated, “Does anyone know where she is?”

“She’s with Professor Chariot,” Lotte answered, “they’re looking through the storage rooms for anything that might help.”

Diana was disappointed that Akko would not be joining them, but she understood why. She was rather aggressive this morning. Still, Diana had a lie to enforce, so she pouted and rested her chin in her hands.

“That’s a shame. I was hoping to enjoy a nice meal with her,” Diana sighed.

“Yeah, we know,” Hannah groaned. “Did any of you come up with a way to deal with this?”

“Um, well,” Lotte started, “I was thinking it was weird that we haven’t seen anymore stung victims? The last time there was a Cupid Bee, it stung as many people as it could.”

“That’s because the bee isn’t at Luna Nova anymore,” Sucy casually told the room.

“What! How do you know that?” Hannah questioned.

“I brewed some incense to lure it and set them up around the school to trap it,” Sucy responded with a shrug. “If it was around, it would have been caught by now.”

“And how do you know it didn’t just fall for your traps?” Hannah pressed.

“Are you questioning my brewing capabilities?” Sucy asked with an intimidating glare. “Should I prove just how potent my potions are?”

“N-no,” Hannah murmured meekly and shrank back.

Sucy dropped her scowl and continued as if nothing happened. “Besides, it hasn’t stung anyone else around the school. That should be proof enough that it isn’t here.”

“So where could it be?” Lotte asked the whole room.

Before anyone could reply, the door to the room swung open and Barbara wheeled in a trolly with several plates of food. “I’m back!”

“Finally!” Amanda shot up and went to the trolly to get a plate. “I’m starving.”

Meals were handed out as the witches continued discussing the whereabouts of the Cupid Bee. When a lull occurred in the conversation, Amanda decided to chime in.

“It might be in Blytonbury,” the American suggested.

“Could it have gotten that far?” Barbara asked. “Can it use leylines?”

“Amanda’s probably right,” Sucy piped up, “it’s the closest location with a large population.”

Diana internally screamed as she calmly sipped her tea externally. At this rate, the Cupid Bee will never be found and she’ll have to keep lying to her friends for who knows how long. Furthermore, if it did make its way to Blytonbury, it was sure to cause much more havok. As much fun as she was having with Akko, the heiress didn’t want a magical creature to distress the public after they had just repaired the reputation of magic.

“Then should we go into town to search for it?” Jasminka spoke up for the first time during the meeting.

“If we go tonight, we won’t have enough time to do any searching before curfew,” Lotte explained.

“Then we’ll go tomorrow,” Hannah proposed, “first thing in the morning. We don’t have classes or anything.”

“Ah,” Diana gushed, “there’s a nice café I could take Akko to.”

Diana actually wanted to go to help find the Cupid bee and put an end to her charade before she did something that she couldn’t recover from.

“Then it’s settled!” Amanda declared. “We go to town tomorrow.”

“You seem excited,” Barbara commented.

“Any excuse to get out of this place,” Amanda replied with a smirk.

“Well if there isn’t anything else we need to talk about, I have mushrooms to tend to before lunch is over,” Sucy said as she stood and headed towards the door.

However, she stopped before leaving and turned back to the room. “Amanda, can you come with me? I could use your help.”

Amanda gave her a questioning look, but then it seemed she realized something and nodded. “Yeah, sure. No prob.”

“Huh,” Lotte started after the two left, “Sucy never asks for help when it comes to her mushrooms. I wonder what she needed Amanda for.”

“Who knows when it comes to Sucy,” Barbara shrugged, “that girl is too cree-, er, eccentric to understand.”

The girls then decided to disband so that the could prepare for their next classes. Diana and her teammates, as well as Red Team, had alchemy for their next class. When Diana and her friends entered the classroom, she spotted Akko with her head on the table as she was talking to Lotte and Sucy.

“And we looked through so many boxes,” Akko stuck out her tongue in disgust. “So many dusty boxes.”

“It’s alright Akko,” Lotte tried to comfort her friend, “we’ll find it soon enough.”

Diana strolled to her team’s assigned table with Hannah and Barbara. On her way, she had to pass by behind Akko, who hadn’t seem to notice her presence yet. Diana almost laughed at how unperceptive Akko was. It was almost too easy to sneak up on her.

“Good afternoon, Akko,” Diana softly greeted when she was right behind her japanese friend.

Akko squeaked and sat up straight, drawing the attention of some of the other students.

“Oh, I apologize Akko,” Diana gasped, “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“We should really get to our table before Professor Lukić gets mad,” Barbara faked a laugh as she lightly pushed Diana.

“Yeah, we can hang out with our friends afterwards,” Hannah urged.

“Of course,” Diana agreed innocently. “I was just saying hi.”

“Yes! That you were,” Barbara smiled nervously.

Diana pretended not to know what her friends were talking about, but she was grateful. Although she wasn’t doing anything too dangerous, she felt herself staring to lose control once again. Diana wondered why she couldn’t stop herself. However, she didn’t have long to contemplate before class started. It was a regular lesson that Diana had no trouble with. It wasn’t until the students had to replicate the potion Professor Lukić showed them that Diana attention was brought back to Akko.

At first, she could hear some squabbling coming from Red Teams table, which was the same as any other alchemy class. It wasn’t also too much of a surprise when the potion that they were working on erupted into a smokey explosion, which was more common than anyone appreciated. However, Akko had been leaning right over it when it exploded, and her scream drew the attention of all the witches in the room as she went flying into a wall. Diana, as well as the others in the room heard a sickening crack as the girls body met stone.

Most of the class rushed to where Akko landed, worried that she might be seriously injured. They had seen Akko take hits before, but this one had seemed more serious than the others. Akko sat up, dazed, as her fellow students bombarded her with dozens of questions. Before she could even understand anything being said to her, Professor Lukić pushed her way to the front of the group and hushed the class.

“Kagari, are you alright?” Professor Lukić asked forcefully.

Akko shook off her dizziness before replying. “Yeah, I think so.”

“Good,” Professor Lukić stated. “Headmistress Holbrooke said she was going to cut my funding if I lost another student.”

“Another?” One student asked, but was ignored.

“You should go to the nurses office just in case,” Professor Lukić ordered.

“But I’m fine,” Akko whined as she stood up, but fell back down, clutching her ankle.

“See, go get medical attention before I’m accused of neglecting an injured student again,” Professor Lukić demanded.

“Again?” The same student asked, but received no reply once more.

“Can anyone help Kagari get to the nurses office?” Professor Lukić asked the room. “I don’t think she can walk on her own.”

“Can’t we just use a healing spell,” Akko questioned hopefully.

“Not unless we know exactly what’s wrong,” Diana answered as she approached her injured friend. “I’ll help her get to the nurse. Once she identifies the problem, we can heal you quickly.”

Hannah and Barbara looked to each other, but knew they couldn’t stop Diana without raising some questions. Lotte seemed more concerned about Akko’s condition while Sucy gave no indication to what she was thinking. Akko remained silent and refused to look up.

“Good, now go,” Professor Lukić ordered.

“Come on Akko,” Diana said as she offered her hand.

Akko was hesitant, but she accepted the help, even if she still wouldn’t look at her. Diana took her arm her put it around her shoulders and helped Akko limp out of the room. It was obvious that Akko was nervous to be around Diana, but the blonde had no other intentions than helping her friend. Diana was far too worried about Akko’s safety to try anything. Lie or no lie, Akko was important to her. The whole reason she was in this situation was because she was in love with her friend.

And then Diana came to a realization. That was why she continued to lose control of her actions. Why she seemed to go too far whenever she tried to pretend to be influenced by the Cupid Bee. It was because she was truly in love. She had spent so much time hiding her feelings and beating them back that now when she showed the slightest bit of affection, it opened a floodgate of repressed emotions. The next emotion Diana felt was sorrow. Now that she knew what it was like to be open about her crush, it was going to be so much harder to hide it once she was ‘cured’.

The girls walked silently, but Akko made no comment about it. They arrived at the nurses office and Akko was seen to immediately. While Akko was being looked after, Diana reflected on her new found discovery. Even if it was painful, Diana was not one to feel bad about herself. She decided that if she was going to suffer at the end of this no matter what she did, then she was going to continue enjoying what time she had left. If it took them a little longer to find the bee, then so be it.

The nurse returned with Akko to inform Diana on her condition. “It was only a small sprain. Easy enough to fix with a bit of magic. She’s fine to return to class.”

The nurse ushered them out of her office and they started back towards their class.

“I’m glad that it was nothing serious,” Diana commented as they walked.

“Yeah,” Akko replied, staring straight ahead.

“But please be more careful,” Diana asked in a soft voice.

Akko finally looked at Diana and then down to the ground in shame. “Ok.”

Diana then leaned in close to akko’s ear ant took on a more sultry tone. “I’d hate to see anything happen to that body.”

Akko snapped out of her self pity and began to walk faster, unable to reply. Diana laughed to herself and followed. She thought what would happen only if Akko knew the truth.


	4. Not lying enough

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it's been some time, hasn't it? I know I haven't updated for a while and I'm sorry. I was away for the summer and didn't have much of an opportunity to write. When I came back, school was a lot busier than I anticipated, plus I had several other things going on, but I wrote a little whenever I had time. This is actually v2 of this chapter. I managed to complete the first one a little while ago, but I really didn't like how it turned out. I decided that I wanted to be satisfied with it before I posted it, even if it took some extra time.
> 
> I'm still pretty busy, so I'm not making any promises for a date for the next chapter, but I haven't given up on the story.
> 
> I made this one a little longer in hopes that it would make up for the wait, so I hope you enjoy!

Classes had ended for the day and Diana was relieved that she was able to hide her fake curse from her fellow students. When she was dismissed from her final lesson, Diana gathered her notes and exited into the hallway. As she walked the halls, the heiress pondered on how she would spend her evening. Obviously, she would have to seek out Akko, but she wondered what they could do that would be discreet enough to prevent others from discovering them yet convincing enough to maintain her lie. Her thoughts, however, came to a stop as Amanda suddenly stepped in front of her.

“Sup, love nut?” The American asked with a sly grin.

“Good evening, Amanda,” Diana nodded to acknowledge the greeting. “Is there something you needed?”

“I’d just thought I’d let you know that the rest of us are getting together to more about the pan tomorrow. We’re meeting my teams room after dinner,” Amanda explained, her grin never wavering.

“And why are we meeting in your room?” Diana asked.

“We were also gonna watch a movie on Con’s projector,” Amanda replied.

Diana was confused as to why Amanda was telling her all of this. “If you’re concerned about getting into trouble, I do not believe you are not breaking any rules. The school code has been more lenient on technology since Croix was here, despite her actions.”

“I’m inviting you,” Amanda sighed as she rolled her eyes.

“I’m grateful,” Diana started after a pause, “but I’ve never had much of an interest in movies.”

“Akko’s gonna be there,” Amanda stated as she casually inspected her nails.

“Although I suppose I could come by and spend time with my friends,” Diana added, making sure she looked wistfully into the distance.

“Yeah, I figured that’d get ya to come,” Amanda chuckled. “We’re starting at seven.”

“Then I shall be there at seven,” Diana declared.

“Oh, and by the way,” Amanda added with a wink as she started walking past Diana, “Akko’s in the courtyard right now, since you’re probably already looking for her.”

Diana only smiled back as she began towards the nearest staircase and descended to the ground floor. Clearly, Amanda was only helping her because she enjoyed Akko’s embarrassment, but that didn’t mean Diana couldn’t benefit from her antics. When she exited the academy, Diana could immediately spot Akko across the courtyard, due to the brunette’s typical hyperactive gestures. Diana stalked towards her crush, taking care to stay out of Akko’s line of sight. When she was halfway across the courtyard she could see that Akko was conversing Lotte while holding a broom. She also didn’t have to listen hard to overhear Akko loudly talking to her shy friend.

“But Lotte, if we’re going to Blytonbury to search tomorrow, I want to ride my own broom,” Akko complained. “That’s why I need to practice!”

“I know Akko,” Lotte meekly argued, “it’s just, I don’t think you’ll get up to the speed we’ll need. If you rode on your own, we’ll, uh, well, you know…”

“No, I don’t know,” Akko retorted, clearly annoyed with her hands on her hips.

Diana felt a twinge of sympathy. Although Akko had made incredible progress with her flying, she was still nowhere near the same level as the other students. She was able to get off the ground and move around in the sky, but her speed was considerably slow and her maneuverability was nothing to brag about. She didn’t receive any teasing about it anymore, however. Even professor Nelson, who once treated Akko as a frustrating problem, now flaunts Akko as her greatest achievement. Many have heard the professor talk about how she is helping the hero witch, Akko, overcome her flying disability.

Diana could see, though, that Akko was becoming temperamental and Lotte was starting to become submissive. She decided to quicken her pace and help Lotte before Akko became to stubborn.

“I can’t keep relying on you guys everytime we need to go somewhere,” Akko huffed. “I need to learn to fly on my own.”

“I’d give you a ride anytime,” Diana breathed into Akko’s ear as she cupped Akko’s shoulders in her hands.

Akko jumped away with a shriek and clutched her broom tighter before spinning around and narrowing her eyes. “Stop that!”

“How did you not see her coming?” Lotte asked quietly, but she wasn’t heard by either of the other witches.

“Oh my, Akko,” Diana taunted as she clasped her hands behind her back and leaned forward, “that was more than a one word answer. Are you done playing hard to get?”

Akko blushed and fumed, but turned away and straddled her broom. “Practicing.”

“I can see that,” Diana laughed playfully as she strolled up next to Akko. “May I help?”

“Um, Diana? Akko?” Lotte called out quietly, but managing to get the attention of her friends. “Maybe we should take this into the forest. Where we’re less likely to be seen.”

Akko took one look at Diana, who batted her eyelashes in response, before getting off of her broom and marching towards the forest angrily. Diana was silently thankful for Lotte’s foresight and happily followed behind as Lotte trailed the two of them. When they were deep enough to avoid any prying eyes, Akko mounted her broom once more and shouted “Tia Freyre!” Diana and Lotte watched as she slowly ascended about a foot off of the ground and flew forward a little faster than her walking pace.

“Akko, we all know you’ll be a great at flying one day,” Lotte sighed, “but I just don’t think that day will be tomorrow.”

“Practicing!” Akko shouted as she continued to fly, determined to prove Lotte wrong.

“You aren’t even high enough!” Lotte argued.

“Higher!” Akko announced as her broom shot up another five feet.

Akko was proud of her herself and smiled triumphantly. Her mirth, however, was cut short as she felt herself tip to the side and flip upside down. Akko pouted, but refused to let her accomplishment be spoiled.

“Still counts,” she declared as she pointed a finger to her friends.

However, Diana was blushing furiously and looking away while Lotte covered her mouth with her hands with a red tinge on her cheeks as well.

“A-akko,” Lotte stuttered, “your skirt.”

Akko was confused by the other girl’s reactions and looked to her skirt. When she saw that her shorter than average garment was under the universal law of gravity, Akko screamed and let go of her broom to fix herself. Unfortunately, this also caused Akko to slip off of her broom entirely and fall to the ground, her broom landing right next to her. The other girls snapped out of their embarrassment and rushed to see if their friend was alright.

“Akko! Are you hurt!” Diana asked as she fell to her knees next to the japanese witch.

Akko sat up and rubbed the back of her head, but seemed otherwise unharmed. “Fine.”

“Thank goodness,” Lotte muttered. “That’s why I don’t think you should ride on your own.”

Akko grumbled in response, but when she glanced at Diana, her face went red and she began to fix the hem of her skirt, making sure it was pulled all the way down. Images of Akko’s compromising position flashed in Diana’s mind, causing her to become bashful as well. Diana was also debating whether she was supposed to be embarrassed, or if a Cupid Bee victim would act differently. However, she decided that she had to do something before she garnered suspicion. 

“I apologize Akko, but I can assure you that I averted my eyes and did not see so much that you should worry,” Diana faked a cough as she spoke.

Akko stopped fidgeting with her skirt to look back at Diana, hopeful that her dignity would survive this encounter.

“However,” Diana continued, “I would not be opposed to suck a sight if you were willing. Perhaps you could put on a show for me, since I know you love to perform.”

It took Akko a moment to process what Diana had said, but when she did piece it together, she shoved her face into her hands and audibly groaned while her skin almost became the same colour as her eyes. Lotte’s jaw dropped, the girl unable to say anything. Diana stood up suddenly, blushing herself.

“I suppose I should be going,” Diana announced, “I have some errands that need to be done, but I hope to see you again soon, darling.”

As Diana walked off she could hear Akko mumble through her hands. “I’ll ride with one of you guys.”

Diana chuckled as she left the forest and crossed the courtyard. Although she was coming to terms with her feelings, she still surprised herself with her unusually lewd language. She left because she figured that it would be better off to give both herself and Akko a break before she had to attend the movie night. Under normal circumstances, Diana would not have even been able to bring herself to face Akko again after such an incident, but she couldn’t risk her lie by not going. Thankfully, the Cavendish heiress had plenty of experience in her life when it came to remaining calm in social gatherings.

When she entered the academy, she soon heard rapid footsteps and turned to see her roomates sprinting towards her. When they caught up to their blonde leader, they both hunched over with their hands on their knees, panting. After they took a minute to catch their breath, they looked at Diana with frantic faces.

“Where have you been!?” Hannah asked.

“We looked everywhere for you!” Barbara exclaimed.

“I was with Akko,” Diana smiled happily, pushing her recent embarrassment aside.

“What!?” Both Hannah and Barbara shouted, then looked around to see if anyone else was around.

Although they couldn’t see any students or faculty, they still pulled Diana into a huddle before continuing to question her.

“What were you two doing?” Hannah pressed.

“I was, er, um, helping Akko practice her flying,” Diana avoided her teammates eyes and cursed her own inability to speak properly.

Hannah and Barbara gave each other a worried look. Diana did not stutter. Even under a curse, something had to happen to make their usually confident friend hesitate.

“Did anyone else see you?” Barbara asked.

“Lotte was with us,” Diana explained, “we were in the forest.”

“At least you were hidden,” Hannah sighed with relief, but then gave Diana a curious glance. “Wait, where is Akko? I didn’t think that you’d actually part from her?”

Diana quickly thought of a reasonable excuse and spoke. “Well since I was invited to a ‘movie night’ that my dear Akko will also be attending, I thought that I should take the time freshen up. I’d like to look nice for Akko”

“Oh, that makes sense.” Barbara said aloud to Diana’s relief.

“Amanda told us to come tonight as well,” Hannah added. “So you’re going to go put on makeup or something?”

“Do you think Akko would like it?” Diana asked while putting a finger to her chin.

“Uh, sure,” Barbara hastily nudged Hannah with a small smirk as she spoke. “I’m positive that Akko would fall for you on the spot!”

Hannah realized what her friend was hinting at and added. “Yeah, so we should go back to our room. Right now. We’ll even help you with it.”

Diana resisted the urge to roll her eyes as her friends rambled on. She was already heading to her room, so Hannah and Barbara’s urging was unnecessary. However, she had to pretend to be hopelessly infatuated.

“That sounds like a wonderful idea,” Diana declared with a smile. “I would love your assistance.”

The girls then headed back to their room and it soon became apparent as to why Hannah and Barbara were so excited to bring Diana back. Before the blonde could get settled, she was dragged over to the vanity mirror and forced to sit down. Her friends then began to bring out various makeup products and setting them before her. Diana’s eyes widened in horror as she realized what was in store for her.

Other than what was necessary for formal parties and such, Diana never altered her appearance with beauty products. While Diana certainly didn’t need them, Hannah and Barbara were always insistent on her joining them when they were giving each other makeovers or trying new products. Diana had refused every time in the past, and now it seems the duo had pounced on the one time she had accepted.

“This is going to be so much fun!” Hannah exclaimed as she was deciding between two shades of lipstick.

“I can’t believe Diana is actually letting us do this!” Barbara added with a squeal.

“The Cupid Bee venom has to be some powerful stuff,” Hannah remarked as chose the better shade.

“Ah, well, Akko seems to be more keen to playing hard to get then I would have thought,” Diana explained, using every ounce of self control to remain calm. “Perhaps some more drastic measures are needed.”

“Don’t worry Diana,” Barbara replied, “when we’re done, Akko won’t be able to look away from you.”

Diana tried not to think about what Barbara could mean by that and remained silent as the girls went to work decorating her face. Diana didn’t even recognize most of the devices that they were using and had to endure for nearly an hour before Hannah and Barbara sat back with satisfied smiles. Diana had her eyes closed by the time they were done and was nervous to see her own reflection.

“Come on Diana,” Hannah urged, “open your eyes.”

“We worked hard,” Barbara complained, “you at least have to look.”

“Very well,” Diana relented as she cracked her eyes open.

At first, Diana was confused. It looked like nothing had been done to her face. She even considered that her friends might have played a prank on her before she realized what had been done. It was very subtle, but Diana saw that her features were more defined and alluring. Barely visible hints of blush and eyeliner had made Diana appear more mature and mysterious. She wouldn't have even known she was wearing makeup if she hadn’t just sat through an hour long session.

“I’m… impressed,” Diana admitted as she inspected herself. “You two did an amazing job.”

Hannah and Barbara smiled at each other, but the latter gasped when she saw the time.

“We need to get going. It’s almost seven,” Barbara explained.

“Darn, we were so focused that we missed dinner,” Hannah sighed.

Diana rose and headed towards the door. “It can’t be helped. We made an arrangement and it would be improper to arrive late.”

“Someone’s eager to show off her new look to Akko,” Hannah snickered.

“You know, we’d be happy to help you out again, even after your cured,” Barbara smirked.

Diana hesitated for a moment. Her teammates were absolutely correct in why she was in a rush, even though she didn’t want to let them know that. However, she was still ‘cursed’ and had a role to play.

“I am hoping to get a seat next to Akko, which may prove harder to obtain if we delay,” Diana announced as she left the room.

Hannah and Barbara quickly caught up to her and the three walked towards the green teams room. When they arrived, Diana promptly knocked on the door and was greeted by Amanda.

“Wow, you really meant it when you said you’d be here by seven,” Amanda commented as she checked the time, which was exactly seven. “Well, we’re still waiting for your dreamboat and her squad to arrive, so make yourselves comfortable, I guess.”

“Thank you,” Diana nodded, “we’re looking forward to the evening.”

When Diana entered the room, she saw the Green Team had dismantled their bunk bed and placed the mattresses on the other side of the room on the floor. She wondered why they didn’t just move the single bed, considering that it would probably be much easier. Hannah and Barbara took seats on one of the mattresses and Diana followed suit. Constance was setting up the projector while Jasminka was munching on a large bowl of popcorn. When the guests sat down, Jasminka offered each of them their own bowl of popcorn. Normally, Diana didn’t care for popcorn, but she was rather hungry since she missed dinner and gratefully accepted the snack.

It wasn’t long before excited knocking rang from the door and Amanda let their final guests into the room. Akko, Lotte, and Sucy poured into the room with Akko’s arms raised and eyes closed. Diana waited patiently as it seemed Akko wasn’t aware of her presence yet.

“Man, I could really use this after today,” Akko exclaimed as she plopped herself down next to Diana. “I’ve been way too stressed.”

“Maybe a massage would help,” Diana offered softly as she stroked the asian girl’s back.  
Akko’s eyes opened and turned to Diana, first in disbelief, and then in fear. She leaped back up backed up to the opposite wall. Sucy and Amanda laughed as constance grumbled silently about her workspace being occupied.

“I guess I forgot to mention that I invited Cavendish and her crew,” Amanda spoke when her laughter died down. “Hope you don’t mind.”

Akko shot her a glare before slowly returning to her seat as Diana smiled at her. She took a bowl of popcorn from Jasminka and stared at the wall as she began to eat. Diana was a little disappointed that her enhanced look went unnoticed, but didn’t let it deter her.

“A classic choice to watch a movie for our first date,” Diana giggled as Akko choked on a kernel.

“Not a date!” Akko shouted.

“Wow. That was almost a complete sentence,” Sucy remarked.

Akko growled as she shoved more popcorn into her mouth. Diana sighed internally. She knew Akko wouldn’t fall for her makeover, but she was hoping for at least a comment. Constance finished adjusting her machine and Amanda stood before group, smirk plastered to her face.

“Now then, I bet you’re all wondering what cinematic masterpiece we’ll be watching this evening,” Amanda addressed the room with enthusiasm.

However, all she received were bored and impatient expressions and scowled as she continued. “Well it’s Slaughter Mansion IV.”

“Um,” Lotte spoke up, showing her nervousness as she spoke, “weren’t we going to talk about tomorrow?”

“Yeah, Diana’s still cursed and we don’t know how long we can keep it a secret,” Hannah added.

Amanda waved her hand dismissively. “We have all night. Let’s have a bit of fun first.”

Diana grimaced since it seemed like her condition, although fake, was not being taken seriously. She also had no love for horror movies. However, Akko’s eyes sparkled as Amanda put in the movie, so Diana decided to seize an opportunity.

“Can I hold onto you if I get scared?” Diana flirtatiously.

Akko’s delight vanished as a familiar blush crept onto her face. “Fine…”

Diana was surprised by Akko’s response and thought she could take her teasing a little further. “Oh? Did you arrange all of this just so that I would cuddle up to you?”

Akko’s blush deepened as she mumbled. “Scary movie. Wouldn’t blame you.”

Diana was touched that Akko was looking out for her even though she was uncomfortable. Diana decided to stop for now, but waited for the perfect time to cling onto her crush. But that time never came, though, because before Diana had a chance to wrap herself around the japanese girl, she found that Akko had quickly latched onto her arm and was quivering as she watched the movie. Of course, Diana had no complaints about this, but she was confused because the movie did seem rather dull and cheesy.

When the end credits began to roll, Diana looked down to Akko, who looked up at her in return. Diana smiled to Akko, but the brunette seemed mesmerized as she stared. Diana remembered her makeup and wondered if Akko had finally noticed.

“Ahem,” Amanda coughed, “if you two are going to start making out, can you at least take it to one of your own rooms?”

Akko snapped out of her trance and blushed, now looking away from Diana, much to Diana’s disappointment. 

“Now that that’s been taken care of, I think it’s time to move onto the second activity of the night!” Amanda declared.

The other girls murmured in confusion, save for Sucy, who wore a malicious grin.

“Earlier today, Sucy provided me with some truth serum that she suggested I mix with the butter that was used for the popcorn,” Amanda began to explain.

Shock and anger erupted in the room. Lotte started to scold Sucy. Jasminka and Constance seemed mostly indifferent, used to their leaders antics. It was Barbara, though, who was the first to speak up.

“Why would you do that!?” She asked angrily.

“Because I thought we could play a nice game of Truth or Dare, with truth becoming less of an easy option,” Amanda answered. “Besides, Sucy assured me the potion won’t last long. It should wear off by the time you go to bed.”

“And are you under the serum?” Hannah pressed, also angry.

Amanda took a handful of popcorn from a nearby bowl and quickly chowed down on it. “Fair’s fair.”

“You’re lying,” Akko accused as she stood up. “There’s no way you’d take it yourself if it was real.”

“Oh yeah?” Amanda replied with a dangerous smirk. “What colour panties are you wearing?”

“Blue,” Diana stated before throwing her hands over her mouth.

Everyone in the room turned to look at her, but Akko gave her a mortified expression. “You said you didn’t see!”

Diana was equally horrified, not only at her embarrassing admission, but because a truth serum was quite a hazard for her current facade.

After recovering from her shock, Amanda’s grin returned twice as big as it was before. “What’s this abou-”

“Nothing!” Akko shouted as she jumped up onto the single bed and slammed her fist onto the bedpost.

Before Diana could question Akko’s behaviour, the mattress flipped over several times and displacing Akko without a trace. She noticed Constanze throw her hands up angrily and grunted with a scowl.

“What was that?” Barbara asked after a moment of silence.

“Con’s secret workshop,” Amanda answered.

Constanze threw her a dirty look, but the American just shrugged. “What? I’m still under the serum. Anyways, the rest of us can still play.”

“I think not,” Diana stated. “I don’t believe I, or anyone else here, will be willing to put up with this invasion of privacy. I’ll ignore the prohibited use of alchemical substances and… questionable remodeling of school architecture tonight, but I do not plan of playing any games with you.”

“Don’t be such a prude,” Amanda shot back, “you’re just scared that you’ll have to say something embarrassing. Well, something else.”

“Diana’s right,” Barbara added while Hannah nodded. “We don’t want to play.”

“I’d actually rather not as well,” Lotte meekly said.

Amanda crossed her arms and frowned. “Fine, be that way. It’s not like you can lie about not wanting to, but there is one thing.”

“And what is that?” Diana asked.

“How do you really feel about Akko?”

Diana could feel herself compelled to answer, but before she could say a word, the bed opened up once again and Akko went flying into the ceiling and collapsed back onto the mattress, screaming the entire time. 

“No questions!” Akko declared, pointing a finger to the ceiling, but otherwise not moving.

“I’m in love with Akko,” Diana felt the words force their way out of her mouth. “She’s the most wonderful, most inspiring, and most intriguing girl that I have ever had the pleasure to meet. I want her to be happy and I want to make her happy.”

“Wow,” Amanda chuckled, “that timing was perfect.”

“No more questions!” Akko pointed to the ceiling again before getting up, red faced and exiting the room.

Before the door closed, however, she slightly turned her head and muttered “Goodnight.”

“We should head back as well,” Lotte suggested. “We have to get up early tomorrow to get to town.”

The others murmured in agreement, but Diana thought she saw Amanda and Sucy nod to each other while smirking. Everyone said Goodnight to each other and so Diana and her teammates headed back to their room. Diana was still furious with Amanda, but remained calm and thought things out rationally. What Amanda did was wrong, but it could have turned out much worse than it actually did. Diana did admit her feelings under a truth serum, but everyone seemed to think it was part of the venom. If that had happened during under any other circumstance, then she would have a real emergency. Hannah and Barbara remained silent, too afraid of saying something that would trigger the serum. It wasn’t until they arrived at their room before any of them spoke.

“Well so much for planning out tomorrow,” Hannah commented as she got into bed.

“I hope we find the bee soon,” Barbara thought aloud, “this is getting exhausting.” 

Diana wished her friends a good night before climbing into her own bed. It had certainly been an eventful day. While she had some fun, Diana hoped that the following day would at least be a little calmer. On the other hand, if there was one thing to take from this experience, it was that Akko seemed to be getting less awkward around her, even if it’s only by a little. Akko would have an easier time when she finally found someone to love herself. 

Diana flinched at that last thought. It hurt more than she was anticipating. She was beginning to wonder if she could put all of this behind her when it was over. Unfortunately, it was far too late to back out now and Diana accepted that she would simply have to deal with these problems. She tried to push everything out of her mind so that she could sleep, but she couldn’t help but wonder what kind of person Akko would end up with. She did finally achieve slumber, though, when she reminded herself they may finally find that accursed bee tomorrow and finally put an end to this.


End file.
